The Mexican ambassador to Ecuador, Raquel Serur, was declared
persona non grata
on April 4 by the Ecuadorian Government, which ordered her immediate departure from the South American country after a series of statements by the Mexican president, Andrés Manuel López Obrador. In a matter of hours, a diplomatic conflict broke out between both countries that resulted in an assault by the Ecuadorian Police on the Embassy in Quito on the night of April 5 and the arrest of former vice president Jorge Glas. Serur tells, in first person, the hours in which the crisis precipitated and how he experienced the arrival of the agents to the diplomatic headquarters. This is her story.
Thursday, April 4, morning
A complex day at the Embassy. In the midst of several pending issues to be resolved, a concern crosses my mind: “What matter will Chancellor [Gabriela] Sommerfeld want to discuss in the afternoon? I think of two possibilities: either he is going to ask me for approval for some ambassadorial proposal or there is some sensitive issue, some “irritant”, and he wants to give me a Verbal Note in person…” I continue with my activities and decide not to think about the matter. so as not to get distracted.
Thursday, April 4, afternoon
I arrive on time for the appointment. It's 5:30 p.m. They welcome me with the usual kindness and take me to Chancellor Sommerfeld's office. He makes me come in and, indeed, it is an “irritant”: “Our president's comment at the morning conference.” I still think I can put what was said into context, when without further ado they give me a notice declaring me
persona non grata
and urging me to leave the country within a period of no more than 72 hours. I feel like lightning is passing through my body. I still don't understand, it seems disproportionate, totally out of place and I withdraw. “There's nothing more to talk about,” I say. My legs are shaking. I get in the car and look at the majestic Pichincha volcano, witness to so much history... Now that I write it, the first tear comes to my eyes. I haven't been able to vent. My feelings are contained and packed into a sore body that doesn't seem to be mine.
Thursday, April 4, in the evening
I arrive at the Embassy and tell the staff who are still there what just happened. Nobody gives credit. I try to be strong, I tell them that we have little time and a lot to do. “It is a sovereign decision of Ecuador and there is nothing left but to accept it,” I tell them. I listen to myself as if it were someone else speaking for me. The news spreads. The cell phone doesn't stop ringing. Messages and calls. I notify the Mexican Foreign Ministry. Nobody understands what happened or why it happened. I break the news to one son and then to the other. I feel like my voice is shaking when I speak. Your pain hurts me.
Thursday, April 4, evening
I can't fall asleep all night. Messages and calls with ambassador [Pablo] Monroy. Disordered thoughts invade my body. Scenes from recent times flood through my mind. Police cars outside the Embassy doors permanently; heavily armed military; checking the trunks of local employees. I feel a tension and rigidity that still remains as I write. I try to repress those thoughts, to think about the things I have to close, but I am assaulted by images of dull violence that now take on another meaning. I am worried about how the news will be received in Mexico.
Friday, April 5, in the morning
I am relieved by the statements of President López Obrador, who indicates that he does not intend to act in the same way; that he is not going to expel the Ecuadorian ambassador, nor is he going to break relations. He speaks gently and lovingly about me and indicates that he is going to send an Air Force plane to bring me back to Mexico. I feel protected and relax a little. The cell phone keeps ringing non-stop. Foreign Minister Alicia Bárcena calls me dismayed. She directed me to the Embassy to leave as few pending issues as possible. We worked all day, only stopping for lunch with some of the diplomats and some local employees. Tense lunch, displays of affection, tears, words of support and I continue trying to transmit strength to them and resort to a sense of humor. Lunch was the farewell. It was fast and choppy with calls and messages. We return to the Embassy. There are many things to solve and little time. I see the sad face of Karina, my assistant. I ask what time the overflight process began and they tell me at 4:04. “One less problem,” I think. I talk with Ambassador Monroy and I feel his concern for me. We remain focused on work and I call a meeting with all local staff. I tell you what I have already said and I try to keep it brief because in those moments I feel like I can burst into tears and I don't want to. I remain contained so that they don't see me broken. The Mexican Foreign Ministry publishes a statement informing that it granted asylum to [Jorge] Glas on April 4.
Friday, April 5, in the evening
At the end of the meeting, I announce that I am leaving to pack. Minister Roberto Canseco decides to follow me because there was an instruction not to leave me alone due to the harassment that we had been suffering for some time, but even more strongly on Thursday and Friday. I arrive at the residence and receive a visit from two friends from the urbanization. I try to give an image of strength, but I break down at times. They ask me what worries me. I tell you everything without giving further explanation. Perhaps, for now, I am concerned about a statement from Chancellor Sommerfeld around 5:00 p.m., where she says that she has not received any overflight permit request when I am certain that it was sent at 4:04 p.m.
At 8:30 p.m. I ask you to leave so I can rest a little. I lie down in bed and try to fall asleep. I don't quite make it. I enter a kind of sleep with a deep sadness that invades every pore of my body. Around 10:00 p.m. I hear the residence phone ringing. They let me know that Eva Martha Balbuena, our administrator, is calling me in an emergency. I grab the horn immediately and feel a shudder, a tremor throughout my body. A kind of foreshadowing of what I begin to hear. Between pauses she tells me: “They entered the Embassy”… “They are taking engineer Glas”… “they have Minister Canseco under control.” I feel a huge helplessness while she narrates what is happening, until the moment she tells me: “they are leaving”… “The minister is beaten, but we are fine.” Everything went very fast. I can't cry. My whole body is shaking. I watch our beautiful flag fly out the window and I can't shed a single tear. I respond in disbelief, desperate, while Eva Martha continues describing what is happening. Anger, despair and sadness invade me. My body shakes harder and harder. I think about my children. All at once. I ask you to close everything and come carefully to take shelter at the residence. I call Martín Borrego [head of the Foreign Secretary's office] to notify Chancellor Bárcena, but the call has reception problems. My children arrive at the residence and we talk for several hours about what happened without being able to digest it. “It calms me that at least we are together,” I tell them.
We think and rethink everything while I visualize the consequences of such an outrage. A dismay invades me, I am afraid. “What else can they do?” I try to calm myself, “they are not going to do anything else,” I repeat to myself. Suddenly I stop my thoughts: “This is an attack on our sovereignty. They entered the Embassy, kidnapped a person, beat the minister, pushed Eva Martha. In reality, it is an invasion of our territory.” I still cannot conceive that they have done something so disproportionate. I feel a fear that is mixed with indignation.
Hours pass and in the conversation I come to conclusions: “They had everything planned.” “They just waited for me to come out.” Eva Martha is the last to leave the Embassy. They follow her, they harass her, she gets scared and returns to the Embassy to feel safe. She calls Minister Canseco, who immediately responds to the call. While they talk in the back of the Embassy, the operation begins. They subdue the guard, take away his gun and the garage door remote control. Hearing the noises, Eva Martha and the minister approach to see what is happening.
What happened next is known to everyone and is summarized in a few sentences that shocked the world in the course of a few hours. The public force breaks into the Mexican Embassy with luxury of violence. Engineer Glas is kidnapped. They put him in an armored car and take him away. When Mexico finds out what happened that night, it breaks relations with Ecuador. What led them to act in such a disproportionate way? How did they dare to break the inviolability of a diplomatic headquarters? By what right do they physically attack diplomatic personnel? By what right did they hurt our dignity? There is no justification for doing what they did. Mexico acted lawfully at all times, and the two nations have a long relationship of affection and cooperation.
Saturday April 6, morning
We couldn't sleep the night before and by Saturday morning it was clear that we all had to go out. The Mexican Foreign Ministry network, on alert since Thursday, followed the escalation of events; at all times ready to help: Chancellor Bárcena, Ambassador Monroy, Martín Borrego, our undersecretary Laura Elena Carrillo, them and their teams, all pending. Now not only was a small plane needed, like the one that was going to come for me, but a plane that would house the diplomats and their families: a total of 18 people and three pets. There was no overflight permit yet. I called Mexico and asked that we all leave on a commercial airline to avoid further problems. That's how it went.
Saturday, April 6, in the evening
We arrived at the Embassy to, in a small ceremony, lower the flag that was flying impressively. Sergeant Cervantes slowly lowers the flag as we sing the national anthem. We all feel moved, we have great skin. We fold it and he hands it to me. What a hard moment! Under the same starry sky we closed our Embassy in Quito.
Sunday April 7
In a new and beautiful dawn, and with the accompaniment of the ambassadors of Germany, Cuba, Honduras and Panama, we left the residence at 6:30 heading to the airport. During the flight, multiple memories invade me of what these almost five years in Ecuador have been like for me. Not only the professional challenge of assuming ownership of the Embassy, but also the gratifications that come with a job full of subtleties and nuances; discover its complexities and admire the capacity, discipline and generosity of my team. The wonderful thing about making friends inside and outside the diplomatic corps, inside and outside the Government. How moving it was to walk through the same downtown streets that I had walked with Bolívar, my husband. How much I gained and how much I have lost! Anger, confusion, sadness and nostalgia were the emotions I experienced on that flight. Upon arrival in Mexico we are warmly received by Chancellor Alicia Bárcena and the wonderful team of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. A great relief to set foot on Mexican soil. Thank you Mexico!
Final reflection
International law cannot ignore this illegal and brutal outrage. To do so is to accept that in the Latin American community the reign of arbitrariness will prevail with very serious repercussions for all nations. It is respect for the law or barbarism.